Apple’s next big smart home swing may be a robot — and it may cost around $1,000. A new report from The Information, published on November 2, 2026, says Apple is developing a larger, robotic version of its HomeView smart display, possibly called HomeView Ultra or HomeView Max, with a target launch in 2027 that could slip into 2028. Apple has not announced the device, its name, its price, or its release date, so every detail below should be read as reported, not confirmed.
What the new report says
According to The Information‘s reporting, summarized by MacRumors, Digital Trends, and Notebookcheck, the device carries the internal codename J595 and pairs a 9-inch display with a motorized, swiveling arm. The screen is said to rotate through a full 360 degrees, turning toward whoever is speaking, in a design compared to Apple’s old iMac G4 and to Pixar’s lamp mascot.
The idea is a display that does not just sit on a counter waiting for instructions. Using a camera and sensors, the robot is described as being aware of its surroundings and able to act on its own — for example, turning toward a person during a FaceTime call or switching on lights when someone walks into a room. Digital Trends notes that Apple reportedly began the project in 2019 as a video-call device with an arm that followed the user around the room.
The reported price is the headline number: around $1,000 in the United States, possibly more depending on component costs. That would make the device more than three times the price of the standard HomeView and one of Apple’s most expensive smart home products. No pricing outside the United States has been reported, and the final figure could change before any launch.
Why 2028 is now on the table
The most striking part of the new report is not the hardware, but the holdup. Multiple summaries agree that the device’s hardware has largely been finalized for around two years, while the software has lagged behind. The Information reportedly points to internal disagreements at Apple over which software features should ship on the first-generation model and which should wait for a second-generation model already under discussion.
That disagreement helps explain the shifting timeline. Apple is reportedly hoping to release the larger HomeView in 2027, but the report says the device might not be ready until 2028. One summary adds that the team has stripped back more complex features to focus on FaceTime and basic home automation, prioritizing a smooth experience over an ambitious feature list. Rising component costs and recent memory shortages could also push the final retail price higher, according to Android Headlines’ summary of the report.
For context, this is not the first time the J595 project has surfaced. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman previously reported the 9-inch screen and its full 360-degree swivel, and we covered that earlier reporting in October. What is new in the November 2 report is the firmer price target, the 2027-or-2028 window, and the explanation that software — not hardware — is the bottleneck.
How it compares to the standard HomeView
The contrast with Apple’s current smart home lineup is stark. The standard HomeView, announced on October 13, 2026, has a 7-inch display, starts at $299, and reaches customers on November 13. It is a stationary hub for the home: a shared touchscreen for smart home controls, Siri AI, FaceTime, and personalized experiences for up to six household members.
The reported robotic model would sit well above it. At roughly $1,000, it would not be a mass-market hub but a flagship — a device that has to justify its premium with substantially more capable hardware and software. A moving screen that follows you around the room is a genuinely different product from a fixed display, but it also raises questions that a stationary hub never has to answer: how much noise the arm makes, how it handles a crowded room with several people talking, and what happens when it guesses wrong about who it should face.
It is also worth noting what the new hardware does not change. The standard HomeView, HomePod mini 2, and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K all work as Apple home hubs with Thread radios, so a household that already owns one of them does not need a robotic display to run Matter-over-Thread locks, sensors, and plugs. Buyers would be paying for the moving screen and the autonomous behavior, not for basic hub functionality.
Apple’s wider robot experiments
The report also says Apple has explored other types of robots, including one on wheels that follows a user around the home, one that flies inside the home, and one that can fold clothes. MacRumors and Notebookcheck both stress that it is unclear whether any of those devices will ever be released. They read less like a product roadmap and more like evidence that Apple is testing how far a home robot concept can go before committing to a single form.
That caution matters. Apple has a long history of prototyping products that never ship, and a tabletop robot is a new category with no proven market. Amazon’s Astro, the closest mainstream comparison, remains a niche product rather than a household staple. A $1,000 price tag would put Apple’s robot in an even narrower lane, aimed at early adopters willing to pay for a first-generation experiment.
What this means for buyers
- Do not wait for the robot if you need a hub now. The standard HomeView ships November 13 for $299, and HomePod mini 2 is already on sale for $149. Both work as Thread home hubs today.
- Treat the $1,000 figure as a target, not a price. It comes from reporting, not from Apple, and the report itself says the launch could slip a year and the price could rise.
- Watch the software story, not just the hardware. If the hardware has been ready for two years, the launch date will likely be decided by whether Apple can settle on a first-generation feature set it is happy to ship.
- Expect the name to change. HomeView Ultra and HomeView Max are both rumored names, and Apple has not confirmed either.
The bottom line
The November 2 report reframes Apple’s home robot from a curiosity into a priced, dated — if still unannounced — product: a 9-inch display on a moving arm, codenamed J595, targeting 2027 at around $1,000, with 2028 looking increasingly likely. The hardware sounds ready. The software, and the internal debate over what the first version should do, is what stands between the prototype and your countertop.
That makes the robot a fascinating watch item for 2027, but a poor reason to delay a smart home purchase today. The $299 HomeView arrives in less than two weeks, and everything the robot promises — a screen that follows you, a home that reacts to your presence — will have to prove itself against a much simpler question: is it worth more than three times the price of the display that just sits still?